-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 10/02/28 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on Toyohara , at 73,34

On the Yellow Journalism Front, NYC, the Hearst-owned NY World published a quote from an unnamed Administration Official. It apparently came from a high-ranking diplomat attending a fund raising event for VP Hoover. The unofficial statement hinted at recent high-level peace feelers that had been rebuffed by the Japanese. The lack of substantive concessions by the Japanese has apparently strengthen the hand of the War Department hardliners, who are confident that the new Army Divisions, ships, and weapons now in the pipeline to the Pacific will overwhelm the over-stretched Japanese Empire. "That only a groundbreaking gesture or offer will be necessary to prevent the certain destruction of the Japanese Nation".

When asked about the recent comments in American newspapers, the Japanese War Minister laughs and says “What peace talks? I don’t know of any peace talks! We’ve sunk over 600 US ships, and are killing 7 of their soldiers for every one of ours. Now they’re making up stories about peace talks? Maybe the fact that they’ve been at war with one nation or another for 4 of the last 10 years is starting to make them crazy. If they want the war to stop, they can withdraw to their shores where they belong!”

October 1, 1928 CA USS St. Louis hunts IJN AMCs in the shipping lanes between California and Hawaii

Dateline, Tokyo, at the Japanese Foreign Ministry, where the Swiss Charge' de Affairs, representing the British Commonwealth, delivered a stern diplomatic note to the Foreign Minister, publicly admonishing the Japanese for bombing a neutral British ship that was anchored at a neutral British Port in Sandakan, Borneo. Confirmation was obtained both visually, and via non-specific means, that a bombing attack was carried out that caused serious damage to the HMS High Merchant, with at least 5 crew deaths,a dozen wounded sailors, and 3 missing persons, including the 2nd in command. The British Government demands also include an immediate investigation of this matter, as well as assurances that this attack did not represent an overt act of escalation or hostilities against the British Commonwealth in general. The Japanese Government was reportedly granted a time interval of 72 hours to investigate and respond to the incident in question.

Dateline, London, at the Admiralty, the following statement was released to the press: "2 days ago, an unarmed British-flagged merchant vessel, the HMS High Merchant, was bombed by a Japanese Long-Range Patrol Plane, while safely anchored in the Borneo Port of Sandakan. Until the nature of this unprovoked, and illegal attack, on a British-flagged vessel almost 200 miles from the nearest Japanese base can be determined, The Admiralty has no choice but to place all the armed forces under the control of the Southeast Asia HQ on full alert. Furthermore, a total of five (5) escort vessels have been dispatched from nearby bases to the Port of Sandakan to provide emergency repair and humanitarian assistance to the surviving members of the HMS High Merchant. It is highly recommended that all Japanese Military forces in the vicinity of Sandakan should provide these forces with a wide distance berth, in order to avoid an escalation of these unfortunate events"

Also, in a far-off, and radio antenna festooned concrete bunker near San Diego, the following conversation was taking place between a Naval Intelligence Officer and the Lt. Commander of the Fleet Radio Intercept Group: "Listen, I don't know what to say, but we just lost them..... they just vanished, no call signs, no signals, nothing that we can attribute to Major Japanese Fleet Units" . "Well how do you lose track of the Battleships and Battlecruisers of the Imperial Navy? They have to be somewhere" was the response. I'm sorry Captain, but they could be anywhere in the Pacific, even approaching Hawaii or the US West Coast, and we wouldn't know it until they started bombarding the shoreline. Sir, isn't it possible that we've really hurt them bad, and they've taken shelter in the Home Islands somewhere to effect repairs?" No son, that is not likely....... get me a secure line to Secretary of the Navy, I'm going to have to pass this information up the chain of command. Hopefully they'll see fit to issue a High Alert message to all Pacific Commands to be prepared for the unexpected"

A day after the Swiss Charge' de Affairs representing the British Commonwealth, delivered his stern diplomatic note, a rather extraordinary press conference takes place at the Foreign Ministry.

The Foreign Minister begins “Yesterday, we were informed that a British steamship, the SS High Merchant, was bombed by a flying boat as it approached the breakwater of Sandakan Harbor. Our friends in that area, both Japanese and British, confirmed that the ship was burning out of control when it entered the port, and that the damage was consistent with an aerial bomb. The British have since accused the Imperial Japanese Navy of an unwarranted attack on their shipping. This is what we know.

“At this time, we do not know for certain who bombed the High Merchant, though we cannot rule out it may have been an unfortunate case of mistaken identity on the part of one of our flying boats. We are currently investigating this possibility.

“Complicating this investigation is the fact that as a result of our alliance in the Great War a decade ago, the Royal Navy, US Navy, and Japan are all using the same flying boat design, the F-5. Both we and our British friends call it the Felixstowe F5, while the Americans have since renamed it the Curtiss F5L. In any event, just as we have F-5s at Jolo, so too have the Americans based them on Tawi Tawi. Both bases are within flying boat range of Sandakan.

It is naturally absurd to think the British would attack their own ship, but have they considered that it may have been an American flying boat? The American elections are nearing, and rather then deliver the victory they promised their people, the current ruling party has instead brought an almost two and a half year old war with no end in sight. They have already made wild, desperate statements this week, citing negotiations which our government knows nothing about. Can we really dismiss the possibility that they disguised one of their flying boats to look like one of ours, (an easy thing to do), and attacked a British convoy in the hopes of driving them to their side? We are not ready to make that accusation just yet, but we cannot rule it out, either.

“Let me state categorically that Japan has no quarrel with Great Britain or any member of its Commonwealth. There is absolutely no strategic value in deliberately bombing a neutral merchant ship, and since this war began such incidents were avoided when the British government gave us sufficient warning that one of their convoys was approaching so we could move our forces out of harms way. The Japanese government extends its deepest condolences to the casualties’ families and to British Government for their loss and will continue to investigate this matter to the best of our ability”.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 10/09/28 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Naval bombardment of Bonin, at 65,52

Dateline, London, England @ #10 Downing Street, in a late night meeting with a certain Gentleman behind a desk smoking a big cigar with a snifter of Brandy. "You see, Minister", the Naval Intelligence Officer said, "both we and the Japanese know for certain that it was one of their flying boats that attacked the SS High Merchant. Our confirmation was both visual, from multiple sightings, and via electronic intercept. What I mean, is that our cryptologists have been successful breaking enough of the low-level Japanese Naval code used by garrison forces to know that the attack was real but that we are unable to publicly confirm this evidence without betraying both our code-breaking and signal intelligence capability. Also, we have decoded enough of subsequent low-level communications to understand that the Japanese aeroplane's course was disrupted by a weather front, resulting in a navigational error by the Japanese pilots who thought that they were passing by an American outpost instead of a British one.".

"You mean", said the man behind the smoke cloud, "that we cannot confront them without losing our intelligence edge over them and/or others? Well, that's not a very pleasant set of options, Gentlemen. The Press, on both the Right and the Left, is going to have a field day at our expense!".

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 10/12/28 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Naval bombardment of Bonin, at 65,52

Dateline, London, in a Press Release from the First Lord of the Admiralty: "His Majesty's Government would like to express our appreciation to the Japanese Nation for their assistance in the recovery of the surviving crew members of the SS High Merchant. We look forward to the repatriation of the crew members at the earliest opportunity. Also, we would again like to ask Japan for their cooperation in our investigation as to the possible causes of the loss of the SS High Merchant, and would look forward to any suggestions that they may have in order to ensure the protection of legitimate neutral shipping activities in the Region as a whole"

A few blocks away, the stout man with the stout Cuban cigar in one hand and VSOP cognac in the other hand could only shake his head at the thought of the nebulous statement that had just been released to the press.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 10/18/28 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Naval bombardment of Bonin, at 65,52

Dateline, New York City, an editorial in the New York World, expressing their normal progressive opinion, this time about the floundering Al Smith Campaign for the Presidency: "Governor Smith, who is fighting a rising tide across the Nation of Prohibition, Prejudice, and Prosperity; needs to break away from the prevailing stereotypes if he is to have half a chance in the upcoming elections. He needs to address the concerns of the general public that his religion and his ties to the culture of immigrant populations (mainly the Irish and Italians), makes him untrustworthy and unsuitable to be the Chief Executive of The Nation. He also should think about pursuing the Peace Option in the current Far East War equation, but only if he can do so without raising suspicions concerning his loyalty to the United States of America. Governor Smith, you must differentiate yourself from the Coolidge/Hoover Administration for your campaign to have half a chance of succeeding"

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 10/21/28 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on Toyohara , at 73,34

This is something completely different. At this stage in the game, I announced to my opponent that the city of Eureka, California had been shelled by an AMC, and a small naval landing force had come ashore, at which time I included the attached narrative and screenshot below. I did manage to touch an AMC on hex 136, 43. I did this for 2 reasons:

1) On a strategic level, I was looking for a way of raiding the West Coast before the US elections. Not that I thought it would sway the outcome, but at least to drive home a point that I was capable of hitting them if I could. Bear in mind that negotiations for a peace treaty had broken down not long before this raid.

2) On a tactical level, I was trying to lure naval forces off the West Coast and possibly other areas to try to destroy the AMC. What my opponent did not realize, was there were 4 IJN CVs lurking one hex offshore. The AMC was the bait for my trap. Unfortunately for me, I didn't encounter any naval forces.

October 24, 1928, Table Bluff Lighthouse, Eureka, California – 0600:

“Are you done feeding the chickens Japser?”

“Yes Mr. Prozanac”, the boy called.

“Then come here, I need to borrow your ears for a minute”

The 8-year old Jasper bounded through the heavy fog typical of the Northern California coast, down the dune to the sandy beach until he came upon where the lighthouse keeper, Stephen Prozanac was standing. Straining his ears to hear over the distant thunder of an approaching storm, the boy said “it sounds like a motor launch”.

“Yea, I hear it now too. It must be getting closer”. Cupping his hands, he called out to sea “Ahoy!”

“Yes!” came the slightly accented reply. “Can you help us?”

“You’re headed straight toward the beach! You’re about to run…” he paused as the distinct sound of a boat bottoming out in the sand greeted him “…aground”. Still unable to see through the mist, but able to hear the splashing sounds toward the beach that followed, Stephen turned to Japser and said “Tell Mrs. Prozanac to put some coffee on”.

“Actually, we would prefer tea, if you have it”, came the reply. “Also, we now claim this beach in the name of the Japanese Empire. Raise your hands above your head, please”.

Stephen was about to give a smart reply to that ludicrous statement, when 5 tough looking Japanese marines materialized out of the foggy surf, all pointing automatic weapons at him. Jasper screamed.

A sixth man, shorter than the rest, emerged behind them with a pistol. “You will not be harmed, as long as you do exactly what we say. Tell the boy to calm down. Do you have an automobile?” Stephen nodded dumfounded. “Three of my men will need to borrow it. The rest of us will stay here for now. Is anyone else here?”

“Good, she can make us some tea”. Pointing to the trembling lad, the Captain asked “And the boy?”

“He lives nearby, and helps out around here”.

The Captain bent down to the boy’s height “Hello little boy. My name is Isoroku. Don’t be frightened, we won’t hurt you as long as you’re good for us”

Ten minutes later, the Japanese Captain, the Prozanacs, and Jasper sat uncomfortably around the lighthouse’s kitchen table. The marines lugged a large crate from the motor launch into the Prozanac’s family car. Three of them then drove off, headed southeast, toward the small town of Beatrice, just as it started to rain.

Eureka, California – 0630

Eureka wasn’t a large city by East Coast standards. But it was the largest city on the West Coast between San Francisco and Portland. Nestled within the insulated Humboldt Bay, in the shadow of California’s Redwood Kingdom, most of its 14,000 residents were tied to the fishing or lumber trade.

Few paid attention as a tramp steamer made its way through drizzle and foggy soup which covered Humboldt Bay. The ship was a little bigger than normal, and coming in at a strange time of day, but not altogether unusual. A few early risers could hear the curses from the city’s harbor pilot, left ignored on the beach, especially as the vessel started making a 180 turn in the narrow channel. It was not until the large “rising sun” flag of the Japanese navy that was raised on its foremast that people really started to notice.

“What a bunch of jerks” was the mildest phrase directed toward the vessel, as a small crowd braved the worsening rain on the waterfront. “Just wait till those dopes come ashore” some of the larger lumbermen grumbled as they pounded their fists menacingly.

Table Bluff Lighthouse – 0655

Stephen Prozanac heard his livelihood shatter upstairs. A loud thunderclap appropriately sounded a moment later. A minute later, his wife whimpered quietly, as the burly Japanese marine with a mischievous grin came downstairs with the large pipe wrench he had used to smash the lighthouse lenses into a million pieces. Turning to the Japanese Captain, he asked “You know they call this area the Graveyard of Ships, don’t you?”

The naval captain nodded as he sipped from one of Minie Prozanac’s teacups before saying “I’m aware of Humboldt Bay’s history”.

“Why are you doing this?”

“I’m very sorry Mr. Prozanac, but our countries are at war, and in war we have to do what we must to harm the enemy”.

“Yea, I served during the Great War”.

“Then you know what I say is true”.

Stephen just shrugged. “You’re the guy with the guns”.

Leaning forward, the Captain said “Mr. Prozanac, I learned my English at Harvard. I lived in your country for four years. I am a loyal soldier to my Emperor, and will follow any order, including one to lay down my life, for my country. But I don’t think most of my countrymen understood what your country could do to ours if war came. Many of them know now. But I also don’t think your countrymen fully understand mine. We will never give up, we will never surrender, and we will always find a way…” he said, gesturing up toward the shattered lens of the lighthouse “…to keep hurting you. How is this good for either one of our countries?”

A large, distant boom was heard outside. But this came from inland, and it was clearly not thunder. The Captain looked at his watch and said “right on schedule”.

The clock on the kitchen wall read 7 o’clock in the morning.

A Certain Radio Antenna Festooned Concrete bunker near San Diego, - 0700

The Lt. Commander of the Fleet Intercept Group returned to his station after smoking his cigarette. The weather was partly cloudy outside, though Watch Stations well to the north were reporting thunderstorms. A pale-looking petty officer handed him a note he had just decrypted. “No…” he said in disbelief, “are you sure?” The petty officer nodded.

He thought about it for a moment before deciding he’d better be safe than sorry. Picking up the receiver, he spoke to the operator. “Get me Naval Intelligence. This is a priority call”. Waiting a moment, he spoke into the receiver “Sir, I think I may have something. It isn’t much, but you told me to inform you of anything that may be enemy activity…Yes sir, it is definitely Japanese…Somewhere off Northern California or Oregon, I think, we’re still trying to triangulate the signal…Yes sir, it could just be radio waves bouncing off storm clouds, there’s a pretty good storm brewing up there…No sir, they just repeated the same thing, three times, I have no idea what it means – ‘Tora! Tora! Tora!’…”

Eureka, California – 0700

There were cheers along the waterfront as several small boats full of large rain slicker clad lumbermen and fishermen cast off. They were going to teach that stupid ship that Eurekians have little sense of humor when it comes to waving the flag of their country’s enemy in the middle of their harbor. They were less than 50 yards offshore when a dull boom was heard to the south. That did not sound like thunder! About ten seconds later, the fore section of the unknown ship exploded, and a large projectile making a distinct whistling sound could be distinctly seen flying over the crowd’s heads. The boats abruptly made a hasty retreat back to shore.

The shell landed in the middle of the intersection of 3rd Street and B Street. It was about 5’ long, sticking out of the pavement which its nose had buried itself into at a 60 degree angle. Nothing happened for about 5 minutes, as a growing crowd gathered around the curious sight. Then sick-colored smoke started pouring out of the shell, along with what looked like oversized confetti.

“Gas!” several of the Great War veterans yelled.

A stampede of screaming people began running inland. The thunder overhead mixed with the gunfire heard from the waterfront, as the strange ship fired conventional shells into the lumber schooners, wharves, and lumber yards. Within 20 minutes, three small schooners were sinking, the freight yard at the foot of A Street was in ruins, and the adjacent large lumber mill which stretched for several city blocks along the waterfront was a blazing conflagration.

And then, the firing stopped. The ship moved silently away, and vanished back into the fog before the stunned populace. The line of thunderstorms moved inland. The wailing siren of Eureka’s only fire engine rushing through the puddles to the lumber mill inferno brought many back to their senses. A few picked up the strange confetti, only to find they were actually leaflets, about 6” square, on some kind of water-resistant paper. The front side had a skull and crossbones, with the inscription “If this really was gas, you would be DEAD!” The back contained a print of the Japanese rising sun, underneath which read “Why is your navy across the Pacific? Shouldn’t they be protecting you from us here? Do you even know why you’re fighting us anymore? You can thank President Coolidge and his friends for today”.

Table Bluff Lighthouse – 0720

Even as the thunderstorm moved off, the shellfire from Eureka echoed down the coast. “You’re killing a lot of innocent people today” Stephen Prozanac glowered.

“I sincerely hope not” the Captain replied.

Before Stephen could come up with a response to that, the sound of scattered machinegun fire broke out to the southeast. “Oh dear”, the Captain said.

An uncomfortable silence followed for the next 15 minutes, broken only by the diminishing thunder and rain. The shellfire from Eureka ceased, but the gunfire continued sporadically in the other direction. Five minutes later, the machine gun fire also stopped.

“Walk with me” the Captain said, gesturing to the three prisoners. They silently trod back to the Japanese motor launch on the beach. Stephen noted with disgust that a Japanese flag was now flying from the lighthouse’s flagpole. A flickering, orange glow from Eureka’s waterfront was visible through the drizzle.

Nothing was said for nearly half an hour. The sound of a steamship at full speed could be heard over the waves breaking along the shore. Then the vessel’s horn blew one long blast, followed by two more rapid, short blasts.

The Captain sighed. “I don’t think my men made it out alive”. Pausing for a moment, he turned to Stephen “You will find your automobile in or near the town of Beatrice, Mr. Prozanac, I wish we could have returned it to you before we left. Mrs. Prozanac, thank you for your hospitality and your tea. I’m sorry for any mess we may have made”. And then, bending down on one knee to Jasper’s height, he said softly “You were very good. I’m sorry I don’t have any candy for you”. Digging into his trousers, he pulled out a Japanese coin, with a circular hole in the middle “Here, take this. Make sure you never lose it” Pointing toward a boat tied up on the Humboldt Bay side of the spit of land north of the lighthouse which separated it from the Pacific Ocean, he asked “Is that yours?”

“Yes” Stephen replied. “You going to take that, too?”

“No Mr. Prozanac, you will. Take your wife and the boy to Eureka, you will be safe there. By the time you return, we should be gone. Go quickly”.

The three piled into the boat and pulled out to sea slowly. About 20 yards away, the motor opened up, and the boat headed full speed across the south of Humboldt Bay toward Eureka.

November 4, 1962, University of California, Berkley

The Professor continued “Tactically, the attack on Eureka, California did very little. In Eureka itself, a large fire started in the neighborhood of a lumber mill complex which might have been worse had it not been for the rain. In addition, a freight yard was demolished, and several lumber schooners were sunk. The Northwestern Pacific Railroad was severed in the small nearby town of Beatrice, though the three saboteurs were killed after a gun battle with the locals. The machinery and lenses of the Table Bluff Lighthouse were smashed. It actually took longer to replace the lighthouse lens then it did to fix the railroad, but both were repaired by the end of the year.

“It was a different story, strategically, however. It was only 13 days before the Presidential Election, and for the first time since 1815 foreign forces had attacked American soil – Herbert Hoover’s home state, no less. The ocean no longer provided America an impregnable shield. The nation was electrified, and while many in the USA sought vengeance, for the first time in the twentieth century a significant number started questioning if their government was indeed telling them the entire truth. Needless to say, the remainder of President Coolidge’s term was not enjoyable for him.

“The stunt with the fake gas shell was in response to US threats earlier in the war to attack Japanese cities with gas bombs. As the war wore on, there was some concern that the US would make good their threat. Although lost on the civilian populace, the message that US cities were also vulnerable to gas attack was not lost by the top US Commanders. In that respect, the attack was successful – neither side in the Great Pacific War resorted to using these barbarous weapons.

“The mastermind of the attack, Captain Isoroku Yamamoto was one of the more interesting characters of the Great Pacific War. A brilliant, Harvard-educated strategist, he was opposed to the war from Day One, and several times before used his position in Japanese Naval Intelligence to try to stop it through secret, unconventional ways. His views were unpopular with many in the military, and these prevented him from being the rising star he should have been. There were some who were seeking to assassinate him, and there is even some evidence that he was ordered to attack America in the hopes that he would not make it home.

“Did he?” a young girl with a beehive hairdo in the front row asked.

“Ah, I wish I could tell you everything that happened next, but we’re almost out of time. Read chapter 42 of the textbook, and don’t forget your papers are due before Thanksgiving”.

The girl in the front row raised her hand again “Professor Phelan, is it true that you…?”

Professor Phelan’s wry smile stopped her in mid sentence. “Yes”, he said reaching into his pocket and then holding up an old coin with Japanese characters and a circular hole in the middle. “I was the young boy at the lighthouse. I’m Jasper. Class dismissed”.

Endnotes – I had been planning some sort of attack on the USA for some time. I knew I couldn’t take on the larger cities, and we had an agreement not to land troops on non-base hexes. So I decided the attack would take the form of a raid. Hex 136, 43 was selected because it is 4 away from both Seattle and Mare Island, the two bases most likely to have aircraft. I looked up the largest coastal city half-way between those two places, and Eureka, California came up.

Stephen and Milie Prozanac were the real-life lighthouse keepers of Table Bluff Lighthouse just south of Eureka. The area was called the “Graveyard of Ships” due to the large number of shipwrecks there, including the armored cruiser USS Milwaukee (C-21) on January 13, 1917 – which is why taking out the lighthouse would have been more then just a minor inconvenience. Professor Jasper Phelan is a made up character, though his last name comes from this map, which shows a family by that name owned property next to the lighthouse. http://library.humboldt.edu/humco/holdings/sheet6.pdf If you zoom in, you can also see how close the hamlet of Beatrice and the railroad was.

The “certain radio antenna festooned concrete bunker near San Diego” was part of the storyline furnished by my opponent several turns before. I liked the idea, and decided to incorporate it into the Eureka storyline. The weather in Eureka and San Diego reflected that reported by the game in their respective hexes.

This is the screenshot I sent to announce the raid. The ship's stats were blacked out for security purposes

Dateline, Washington, DC: With all the Newspapers announcing that a "Japanese Invasion of The West Coast", or such similar statements, The Coolidge/Hoover Administration has responded with what can only be described as a sense of disbelief. Both the Secretary of the Navy and War both responded with pleas for "confirmation", and "No evidence of Japanese Invasion". There was even some suggestion that the whole episode was a College Fraternity Prank that "may have gone too far". The President's Staff responded to inquiries that "The President will respond to these reports when the investigation is complete". And that "Anyone who doubts the ability of this US Armed Forces to defend the West Coast is sadly mistaken".

In the meantime, rouge Congressman from both parties were rumored to have met in order to study the prospects of a "West Coast Succession from The Union" if demands for new defense installations and garrison forces are ignored.

A day after the Coolidge/Hoover Administration confirmed the facts behind the Japanese Raid at Eureka, calling it a "pin ****" of a military event and that it "paled in insignificance to the damage wrought by US and Allied forces in the Japanese Home Waters", Opinion columns in Major Newspapers were largely supportive of the Administration's management of the war. In fact, informal polls of the US Population indicated a severe backlash of what might be called indignation that the Japanese had actually trespassed on sacred American soil. Reporters in Washington confirmed that a largely bipartisan coalition in the Congress, sensing the inevitability of the Hoover Victory, rallied behind the Administration at what it perceived to be a Japanese attempt to interfere with the upcoming Presidential Elections; and promised to provide "whatever resources necessary" to teach the Japanese a lesson in American justice and retribution. There were also unconfirmed reports from the West Coast that shipments of "Special Weapons", usually a reference to Poison Gas stockpiles, were being made ready for shipment to the Far East for potential use against the highly concentrated coastal population centers of Japan. These reports, of course, were denied by the Secretary of War.

It now appears to the be the consensus of all Major Newspapers that Japan's attack at Eureka would do more to reinvigorate the American War Effort than almost anything else Japan could have done, which could hardly work to the Empire's advantage over the long-haul.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 10/30/28 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Naval bombardment of Bonin, at 65,52

On the eve of the 1928 American Presidential & Congressional Elections, all that can be heard is the upbeat sounds of Military Bands Playing "... as the caissons go rolling along" at dockside quays all over the West Coast. America appears to be gearing up for the what the all hope will be the final chapter in this War against Japan.

Whew! OK, the USA definitely won that day, and delivered a big Election Day present for Republican Candidate Herbert Hoover. It was a very long gunnery duel, with the range not going below 15000 yards until the end. I’d have been a bit happier had I made at least one torpedo hit, but by the time the range closed, most of my bigger ships were flaming wrecks. It was when the range closed that all of the remaining DDs were sunk and major damage to the remaining ships was done – note that not a single DD on either side survived. Still, it was a tough thing for me to watch. Tactically, there is no denying he scored a major victory.

My BCs were positioned to react if the OBBs ran into trouble. Instead, they reacted to a TF, quite possibly his BCs bombarding Wake, and sprinted north only to get attacked by long-range fighters from Bonin. This caused them to retreat safely to Japan, leaving the OBBs to get slaughtered. That worked out for my BCs, but that was more of a mistake on my part rather than any tactical brilliance. All things considered the OBBs did as well as they could, leaving his Battle Fleet burning off Pagan. Had the BCs engaged off Pagan, I think a lot more ships on both sides would have sunk.

I had 3 TFs in a triangle around Pagan. The OBBs got slaughtered, the BCs sprinted north, and the main Battle Fleet was not in a position to react. However, I detected enough Allied TFs heading west by the end of this turn to figure he was making a move on the Phillipines, so my remaining TFs are now headed that way.

The only survivor of my 25-ship OBB TF was CA Nisshin, which eventually was fully repaired. I found out much later that some of the US BBs which participated in this battle were so badly damaged they were laid up at Pagan for the rest of the war - including BBs Iowa, Indiana, and West Virginia. Others did make it back to the West Coast, but had long repairs. BBs North Carolina and Colorado were spotted six months later.

Based upon this interception, as well as the bombardment of Butuan, I was now convinced that he was planning a landing there, and possibly other places in the Phillipines as well. Even more air and naval assets started heading there after this turn. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack at 63,44

Dateline, Washington DC: A jubilant Hoover Campaign, which promoted a stay the course war policy, championed news reports (confirmed by the Navy) of a "Great Allied Naval Victory over the Imperial Navy" somewhere in the Central Pacific. When asked about US & Allied Losses, the spokesman said that they were "not inconsiderable, but far less than was inflicted on the enemy".

This was actually an important battle – the US had half a day to land a significant number of troops, including part of the 26th Infantry Division, last turn before their fleet retreated when the IJN showed up. I had 3 APs with the 60th Naval Guard Unit 1 hex away. I knew I’d have 2 phases to land them before the next ground combat phase, so I did, knowing it was very possible I’d lose the entire unit. Having 1 of my APs torpedoed during all of this didn’t make things any easier. I imagine the Japanese marines rushing off the docks to clash with the advance elements of the US 26th Division as they entered the town. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 11/18/28

Hi guys, sorry I've been away for so long. For the second winter in a row I've been extremely busy, and fell way behind in posting on the AAR. The good news is the game has gone on, and I've been saving the combat reports and taking screenshots the entire time. This particular game, in fact, has finished, though I'll continue posting it so you all can see how it ended. After that, I'd like to start posting another AAR of a 2nd game Pmbodkin and I are currently playing, which I think is quite different from anything else which has been posted.

What's going on here is I'm using fast, large APs to run supplies to Toyohara. The US air umbrella has made it nearly impossible to reinforce the garrison here in any other way. My fighters are grounded because they're nothing but cannon fodder. I could say more but I've complained enough about this late game imbalance already, and past and future air battles will speak for themselves. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Guiuan

All quiet in Washington DC, post-election. Rumors about "sweeping changes" at both the Departments of State & War. Conventional wisdom also says that rumors about Peace Negotiations were an astute political ploy to win over the votes of increasing numbers of female voters who are now actively participating in the election process.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/16/28 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on Jolo , at 38,59

These 3 USN BBs and the Dutch CL were damaged in the Naval Battle of Pagan on November 6. The IJN AMC raiders were no match for them. From the looks of things they joined an inbound convoy on their way home for repairs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Bonin

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/31/28 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on Toyohara , at 73,34

OK, as stated about a dozen entries up, at the time I'm entering this, this particular game is concluded, so I'm writing about this turn about 9 months after it actually happened. When this turn happened, I was pretty upset, something which rarely happens when I play these games even when I suffer losses. I wrote a fiery rant which I planned on posting when and if this part of the game ever made it into the AAR. I've since decided not to publish most of what I wrote, which basically blasted Matrix for designing a game which was so imbalanced in its late stages. I'll just stick with the 2 following paragraphs from what I originally wrote:

"Just so we’re clear, the total was 57 Japanese aircraft shot down with another 6 destroyed on the ground vs. 5 US planes shot down, with another 3 US planes downed by flak and another 3 operational losses.

"To put it another way, on December 30, 1928, 102 Japanese fighters sortied over their home territory against 46 bombers escorted by 48 fighters. The Japanese fighters enjoyed a 2:1 advantage, and they were over their own airbase. The ratio between Japanese and US fighters shot down was 57:2. I don’t think that even approaches World War II levels".

I realize that by the late game the initiative and numerical advantage should go to the Allies, and Japan should be playing defensively - I'm OK with that. I also realize that WPO is supposed to show the development of air power in the 1920s - with the planes getting steadily better. That's also OK. We're not talking about top secret stealth aircraft here - we're talking about relativlely simple machines only 25 years after the Wright Brothers made their first flight, and the combatants would have had access to the same technology until 1926. To assume that in a war for national survival Japan would performance-wise continue flying close to the same planes it was flying in World War I at the end of 1928, while the USA develops airplanes which completely outclasses Japan in every way is historically wrong. Check the database editor to see what I mean. I think I posted much of what I think of the situation and possible solutions in earlier threads here , here and here.

Anyway, the disparity between the air forces will become even more apparent in 1929, and I don't want to continue belaboring this. At this stage in the game my opponent was gentlemanly enough to agree to reducing his fighters range to 2, at least until the Nakajima A1N1, the closest thing to a "modern" Japanese fighter, appears. This stopped the slaughter of my remaining fighters for awhile. It should be pointed out that none of my current aircraft has the ceiling to reach his high-level bombers, and (except my patrol aircraft) their range is 1, which is not nearly enough to strike the US airbase 3 hexes away at Shikka.

December 29, 1928: Initial stage of the December 1928 Air Battle Over Toyohara.

Here is the score as of Janaury 1, 1929. Although Japan currently has many more points, her defenses are crumbling to the north at Toyohara and to the south at Bonin. With the exception of a minor push in China, Japan is playing mostly defensive at this point. Note this turn's Air to Air Losses.

This attack destroyed the 1st Infantry Division and the 24th Infantry Brigade

In an uncoded wireless message at a frequency communicated to the Japanese Commander on the Island of Bonin in advance under a flag of truce, the following was communicated by 1st Army Group Commander Lt. General Short: "In advance of our upcoming assault on your positions, I personally implore the Commander of the 22nd Division, et al, to accept our terms for your honorable surrender in order to avoid further bloodshed on both sides. You have fought a courageous battle against incredible odds, and there is nothing to be ashamed in accepting the hopelessness of the situation that has been forced upon you. Please take this opportunity to end this conflict...... we promise to respect the dignity of your resistance with access to considerable quantities of food, water, and medical supplies that will be made available to you once you lay down your arms"

At first light, General Short receives a reply over the wireless, stating "Your surrender offer offends us, and forfeits any respect you may have earned from us on the battlefield. We will never dishonor ourselves in such a disgraceful manner, and eagerly await the opportunity to exterminate as many of you as possible before we join our brothers at Yasukuni Shrine. And even as we have breathe our last we will be happy knowing our comrades will avenge us with a terrible retribution upon you. Banzai!" The wireless then goes dead.

January 4, 1929 - The final array of forces before the destruction of all Japanese forces on the Bonin Group. Though the loss of 5 Divisions and a Brigade is a tough blow, they did manage to hold out for 15 months. Their endurance led to untold Allied losses in ground combat, as well as through naval combat, bombardment, and attrition. My opponent very accurately compared the whole campaign to Guadalcanal, and though this represents a major breech of Japan's defenses, he most certainly earned this victory.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/16/29 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Hangchow at 51,39

It doesn't happen very often, but submarines do hit mines occasionally. At this point, I figured my opponent would be anxious to move some of his forces off Bonin, so I began using submarines to lay mines in an attempt to disrupt that. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on Jolo , at 38,59

The Japanese delegate rises before the assembled members of the League of Nations:

“The situation regarding Shanghai has become intolerable to the Japanese people and interests of peace in Asia. Despite the fact that 80% of the foreign population in that city is Japanese, the Imperial Army withdrew all forces in the shortly after the Great Pacific War began. We did this in the interest of peace. As of now, British, US, French, and Chinese forces remain.

The British have the largest military presence in the city, and are fully capable of maintaining peace and order there. Yet, for years, the United States has openly operated a submarine base in this so-called “international city”, and now surface raiders are harassing peaceful convoys delivering food to areas in China which need it. The Japanese people have endured intolerable suffering as a result. There is no state of war between Japan and the United Kingdom, yet the British forces in Shanghai continue to allow Japan’s enemies to commit outrageous acts of aggression against our civilian population, while at the same time shielding these aggressors from retaliatory strikes.

Let us be clear. Shanghai is not a part of the British Empire. It is a part of China, which is at war with the Japan. The mission of British forces in Shanghai is to keep the peace. Instead of doing so, these forces have instead provided a safe haven for murderers. We cannot believe that an Empire as proud as Great Britain would allow such a stain upon their honor, which is why we must consider that the forces in Shanghai are no longer receiving orders from London.

If Great Britain is indeed in control of Shanghai, then as the municipality’s dominant power they need to restore their proud nation’s honor and stop this illegal activity immediately.

If Great Britain is unable or unwilling to stop these attacks, they should do the honorable thing and withdraw their forces to legitimate areas of their own Empire.

If these attacks continue, the righteous forces of Japan will neutralize the aggressors. If it becomes necessary to enter Shanghai, no citizen or foreigner will be intentionally harmed, providing they do not take up arms against us. Since we cannot fathom any honorable nation deliberately putting their legitimate forces in the middle of a war which is not their own, any foreigner who takes up arms against us will be considered a mercenary in the employ of the Republic of China, and dealt with accordingly".

Editor's note: At this point, I was moving my forces into position to make a move into Shanghai. This little rant was intended to lay the foundation for that. Great Britain was still neutral at this point.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/19/29 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/20/29 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Tokyo at 66,43

For the second day in a row, the crew of a Felixstowe F-5 shows the incompetent IJN DD captains how to deal with a submarine in Tokyo Bay by once again hitting SS S-7 with ASW. The crews of both flying boats are awarded citations for their skill aboard the flagship of the DD group who has thus far lost 3 of their vessels since the New Year without making a single significant hit on a submarine. The DD captains are forced to stand at attention in the back row with the lowest of the ratings during the award ceremony.

The gallant SS S-7 sank the following day --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SS R-12 is hit by ASW from a Felixstowe F-5 2 hexes northwest of Tori Shima -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/22/29 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Marcus Island at 75,56

Another hopeless attempt at resupplying an island under the US air umbrella. I even tried to time it for when thunderstorms were in the area. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/27/29

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF, near Iwo Jima at 63,53

Allied aircraft Vought O2U Corsair x 3

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships AK Sakae Maru, heavy damage

Aircraft Attacking: 3 x Vought O2U Corsair bombing at 1000 feet

The difference between the number of aircraft between this attack and the previous is due to the weather - thunderstorms.